Look who’s in town! Saffron bargains. Persbrandt and Olin in Hallström's first Swedish film in 24 years. Lunch with the king.

Look who’s in town!
Talk about an unexpected visitor! When the personnel at a hamburger chain in Bromma looked up they could hardly believe their eyes: In front of them, ready to pay, stood Tom Cruise. The 49-year old star walked into Max hamburger joint in Bromma, ordered a meal and sat down in the restaurant with company. What Cruise was doing in Bromma (or in Sweden, for that matter) is unclear.

Saffron bargain
Saffron is known to be the most expensive spice in the world, and its wholesale retail rate range from $500 to $5,000 per pound. Quite expensive, in other words. But this year, the prices on saffron have gone down, so load up if you plan to bake “lussekatter” (Lucia buns) next month. Says Ingmar Kroon, Press Officer at Axfood, a whole sale company: “The price has gone down a lot.” At Willy’s, a market, a bag of saffron costs 12:90 SEK ($2), last year you had to shell out 40 SEK ($6) for the same kind of bag. Even Ica and Coop Forum have lowered their prices. “Good weather has meant great harvests,” says Ica’s Press Secretary Sara Hjelm.

Persbrandt and Olin in Hallström flick
Oscar-nominated actress Lena Olin and Finnish actor Tobias Zilliacus join the cast of “The Hypnotist”, the Swedish crime drama based on Lars Kepler’s bestseller, which Lasse Hallström (Lena’s husband) will direct. Mikael Persbrandt who has a supporting role in Peter Jackson’s upcoming “The Hobbit” films, co-stars as Dr. Erik Maria Bark, the hypnotist. Olin will play Simone, his wife. And Zilliavus will play the film’s protagonist, detective inspector Joona Linna. “The Hypnotist”, which begins principle photography in Stockholm in January, will be Hallström’s first Swedish film in 24 years. The film’s Swedish release is planned for October, 2012. Lars Kepler is a pseudonym for Swedish husband and wife authors Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril.

Lunch with the king
Jimmie Åkesson, leader for the controversial Sweden Democrats, has been invited to Stockholm Palace on December 6 for lunch with the Swedish King and Queen and Crown Princess Victoria. Today the Royal Swedish Court made public new events and dates in the calendar, and that’s when it became clear that Åkesson has been invited to lunch. It seems to have been with some trepidation that the royal couple sent out their invitation. It is customary for all new party leaders to be invited to the royal court for lunch, but in the case of Åkesson, the family has been hesitant in how to handle the issue. Åkesson has not commented his invitation. When Social Democratic leader Håkan Juholt comes to lunch, Prince Daniel will also be participating. It is unclear why he won’t be present at the lunch with Åkesson.